Iron Man came out eight years ago, and people STILL LEAVE THE THEATERS BEFORE THE END CREDIT SCENES.

First and foremost, the movie is a lot more sombre than the average MCU movie. There's jokes and quips and the audience (IE: me) reacted well to them, but they're few and far between, and almost exclusively Spider-Man's and Ant Man's. Unlike Age of Ultron, it isn't one joke after another, which was one of the problems with AoU.

Let's get the nitpicking out of the way. First, this is the point in the universe series where you're going to have to have seen the previous movies. Most of the others are pretty self contained, and Civil War tries to keep you up to date with the events leading up to the current situation, but character motivations and a lot of the references are about all the previous movies. This also leads to less overall characterization for established characters, and considering how packed the movie is with them that's a real shame. That's not to say there isn't any characterization, but it's a bit bare bones. Also no Zemo sock mask. In fact, Zemo is in name only, not really related to his comic counterpart in any way at all. That's more a nitpick for a geek like me, because Zemo was actually really great. Probably the best villain the movies have had. Really keeps you guessing until the very last moment. On the other side, Rumlow was pretty weak. Serviceable, but nothing really worthwhile except as a set piece to move the plot from point a to b. Oh, one more nitpick: REDWING IS A ROBOT.

Now, like I said last night and deleted to write a more detailed review, Spider-Man was the best. Now, yes, the character is my favorite so there's a degree of bias there. I feel they got the whole "nervously awkward geek" Peter Parker down. They showcase his intelligence, power, and his nonstop bantering quite well. Also, Marisa Tomei is still hot. Peter probably has a borderline Oedipus Complex. On the other side, I think they could have done more with T'Challa, the Black Panther. They gave him a good, quick incentive and his reasoning was solid, but the movie definitely more focused on introducing Spider-Man. Speaking of T'Challa, I think they made his father a little too benevolent and nice, and the idea that Wakanda wanted to be part of the world is off the mark. Country was isolationist and xenophobic.

The combat choreography is above and beyond. The entire movie could be just the airport scene and it'd still be worth the price of admission. Everyone's particular powersets are displayed and unique and it's absolutely beautiful. The ranged fighters stay at range as much as possible, the close combat stay close, and when they mix up they use their particular abilities to their advantage. Again, Spider-Man pretty much is the highlight of the whole sequence, but Scott Lang, Ant Man, also is astonishing to watch, using his size changing ability to maximum effect. Also the Hawkeye Ant Man Supercombo is a delight. Cap vs Spider-Man was good to see, too.

I don't want to spoil, but I feel the last act has a lot of weight compared to previous MCU movies. For once the villains motivation is difficult to follow (as it should be) until the last act, at which point it makes sense.

Besides that, if you liked the comic book event the movie is based off seek professional help. It was horrible. Besides that, there's a few references to it throughout the movie, but has pretty much nothing to do with it. An explosion at the start leading to governments requiring oversight, leading to hero vs hero and jailing those not complying. Above and beyond though, they kept both sides' opinions pretty equal so there's really no "right" one, unlike the comics where the Registration side somehow turned into evil dictators for no real reason other than to fill a villain role. Everyone felt like they were in-character here, and it really pays off in the last act.

My previous favorite movie was Winter Soldier, also by the Russo brothers, and this is pretty much everything that was enjoyable there and amped to 11. Even the last end credit scene was my favorite of all the movies as well, but I am bias.

Probably the best MCU movie to date. Certainly my favorite.

Oh, and the previews. They were pretty uninteresting, nothing new. Dr Strange and Star Wars: Rogue One were the better ones.

Edited, May 6th 2016 12:20pm by lolgaxe

____________________________

George Carlin wrote:

I think it’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately.

Short story, the movie is ******* awesome. Easily the best of the MCU movies. There were some issues, Zemo wasn't much of a villian, Bucky was underused, and Rumlo was only around long enough to remind us that he was in the last movie. But honestly, that's nitpicking, the vast majority of the movie was amazingly well done. I might have to see it again.

Good movie. Woman behind me did not know how to whisper though. I think she may have had a disability... she definitely sounded like she did (not PC, but if you've been around plenty of people with disabilities, you know what I mean).

Going into the movie, based on that one trailer... I thought Spiderman would be dull, but turned out well. I think they chose the dull "Hi" line for the first trailer just to make people have low expectations.

It started off pretty slow though. A lot of chit chat between Captain and Stark, that I felt was needed, but still dragged on a bit. Once the action started, it made up for it.

I honestly didn't see the bad guy's motivation coming until they revealed it. Even when Tony said he only read one heat signature, I assumed the others were still in stasis, and not registering.

One group of people left before the first scene, the one with the loud lady. Another group left half way into the real credits, and I thought "if you already stayed for half of the real credits, why not just the whole thing and see the last after credits scene?"

I'm not sure if I'd say it's my favorite of all the films. I probably would put the first Avengers up on top of that list, just because of the Hulk.

As for previews, X-Men Apocalypse had a pretty long trailer. One that I hadn't fully seen before. I'm sure it's been out and about, I just don't look them up unless I watch movies. Only 3 more weeks on that one, right? I also think that was the first time I've seen a trailer for Rogue One. And the Doctor Strange trailer was the one I had seen previously (Looking forward to that movie).

Dr Strange: I barely remember this one Warcraft: Human guy making lovey doe-eyes at sexy orc girl Independence Day II: Actually looked like a half decent popcorn flick Ghostbusters Reboot: Eh. Although having this review (30 years ago...) come right after ID4 (20 years ago...) really made Hollywood look creatively bankrupt Alice Through The Looking Glass: Was there people out there looking for a sequel to the last one? Deepwater Horizon: Hi! We at BP would REALLY like it if you looked back on the first great ecological disaster of the 21st century as a "YAY AMERICA!" moment X-Men was just an M&Ms commercial (Nightcrawler saying he's saving his M&Ms for a rainy day; Storm makes it rain -- Ho-ho!) and a release date.I didn't know it was even coming out but then I haven't cared much about the X-Men franchise in years.

As for the movie, good times. Definitely better than the last Avengers flick and felt much tighter despite a number of things going on at once. Comic books are for loser dorks so I don't know or care how closely it stuck to the source material. Spider-Man was great compared to his last iteration and actually made me want to see a Spider-Man movie again. I never saw the Ant Man movie but he was amusing as well. Bringing both in added some levity to an otherwise high density scene which is a trick DC could use to learn. Black Panther worked surprising well for being a dude dressed up like a cat. (As an aside to Mr. Pather, maybe you don't get out of your high-tech lab often but leopards have round ears, not little pointy ones) Forest-Cam was a little eye-rolling and wouldn't have been except that they kept showing it over and over and over.

On paper, both Cap & Iron Man have good points but the "equal merits" balance is cheapened by the fact that every X-Men movie seems to involve "the government" (US, UN, Shield, etc) acting as incompetently as possible so it's hard to seriously feel like they should be in charge.

[Edit: It felt to me like the film pushed Cap's side harder (after all, he was right about Bucky not being the bomber, etc) but I suppose since this is technically Captain America: Civil War and not Avengers: Civil War, they're going to make Cap's side "more" right.]

First off, let me say that this is a really good movie. Way better than Winter Soldier and Age of Ultron. Definitely worth the price of admission. The story is good, the action is absolutely fantastic, the humor is spread thinner than in some other movies but what was there was great. Overall a really good movie.

That said, I didn't love the movie. I rate it 5th, behind Avengers 1, Iron Man 1, Guardians, and Ant-Man. I enjoyed it, but I didn't have fun watching it. There were some very calculated fun moments (everything involving Spider-Man) but in general I'm not a big fan of the more serious tone the recent movies have had (Guardians and Ant-Man being the exceptions.) I want more of the pure comic book fun of the earlier MCU movies. Iron Man was a live action comic book. Civil War is an action movie starring Marvel superheroes. I liked Civil War but I'm not in any big hurry to see it again, and it's not something I'd necessarily stop on if I was channel surfing.

See, I don't get that. You've paid money and already been there for like two and a half hours. Why not that last five minutes?

Also, if you wait, you can avoid the lines at the men's room.

Sometimes, it's the need to get to the men's room that is causing them to leave quickly without waiting for the credits. In addition to silly high costs, that's another reason to *not* buy a soda when watching a movie.

See, I don't get that. You've paid money and already been there for like two and a half hours. Why not that last five minutes?

Also, if you wait, you can avoid the lines at the men's room.

Sometimes, it's the need to get to the men's room that is causing them to leave quickly without waiting for the credits. In addition to silly high costs, that's another reason to *not* buy a soda when watching a movie.

I'm going to buy the popcorn, so I'm going to buy the soda(I may sneak in candies, though). If I have to pee, I plan ahead and go during the inevitable slow scene sometime around late second act.

Besides, with how little money theaters make on the tickets, I'm just doing my part and supporting local business the once or twice a year I feel like being around other human beings long enough to see a movie.

I'm going to buy the popcorn, so I'm going to buy the soda(I may sneak in candies, though). If I have to pee, I plan ahead and go during the inevitable slow scene sometime around late second act.

Besides, with how little money theaters make on the tickets, I'm just doing my part and supporting local business the once or twice a year I feel like being around other human beings long enough to see a movie.

Buy a small then, I suppose. I just remember waaaaay back when the first LoTR film came out, and a big group of us went to see it. One of my friends is a massive Tolkien fan (like one of those guys who knows every freaking detail, names all his RPG characters after obscure characters from the books, etc). He bought himself a big popcorn and a massive drink. It was funny watching him clearly suffering through the last 15-20 minutes of the film. When the credits rolled he literally leapt up and ran for the door.

I always buy the large popcorn. Its not that much extra and you get a free refill on it. I always fill it back up on the way out and take it home.

I am another one of those people that probably sees a movie in the theater about every 7 to 9 months. Last movie we actually went to the theaters to see was Star Wars. I probably will go see the Warcraft movie.

I keep swearing off these movies and still watch about a third of them, each time disappointing myself. They somewhat work as comedies, with mindless action as filler between the good jokes instead of just several bad jokes like in an explicit comedy film.

I'm consistently annoyed by the lack of power levels being meaningful, and characters fighting in the showiest, but worst ways possible. Loki and his army of darkness? A serious threat to the Avengers. A normal dude who is really mad at them? Also a serious threat to the Avengers. Why was Hawkeye in the series at all and why do they pretend he is meaningful in combat? Why was Black panther in the fight when Wanda can just hold him in the air and he can't do **** about it? Why do people throws cars/trucks at super durable/strong character or vice versa when those are effectively equivalent to foam blocks. Why not grapple and break their arm/legs?

The choreography was good, but only if you completely forget anyone is trying to win. I just like to think they're dancing.

The plot accidentally calls attention to the very problem it was trying to address in that the ultimate villain was no threat beyond trying to break up the Avengers, and yet they themselves (while seemingly managing not to kill any bystanders), still caused millions in damages. It's stupid when it occurs fighting some normal villain, but extra stupid when they're fighting each other.

only if you completely forget anyone is trying to win. I just like to think they're dancing.

Well, yeah. I think it's obvious that no one was trying to kill the other guy. You drop cars on Iron Man or get Spider-Man to bind Capt. America's legs because you're just trying to get them out of the fight, not kill them. When Rhodey goes down, it's an "Aw, sh*t" moment expressly because that's what no one wanted to see happen. Even when Wanda accuses Hawkeye of pulling his punches, you're not left thinking that she wanted to see Black Widow turned into a red smear on the pavement -- Wanda could have accomplished that herself.

Non-powered heroes are just a thing you have to accept if you're going to watch the genre. Black Window and Hawkeye realistically shouldn't be allowed within thirty miles of the other guys but you don't watch superhero movies for realism. Heck, at least Hawkeye has different arrows that do gadgety stuff, BW mainly just kicks people.

That said, if you keep watching them and keep not liking them then it's obviously not a genre for you and you should probably stop watching them. Marvel has a billion dollar formula for these things and likely isn't changing it any time soon.

It's more of a frustration with the genre as a whole than the specific film. Specifically here though, it's a lack of demonstrated intent to accomplish their goals. Captain America et al could have been very easily stopped from escaping by disabling their transport rather than attacking them directly, and Tony et al chose not to. Black Panther could be entirely negated (harmlessly) by Wanda, and she chose not to.

Jophiel wrote:

That said, if you keep watching them and keep not liking them then it's obviously not a genre for you and you should probably stop watching them.

She was holding and throwing several cars, so not too difficult. At the very least she can continue to fling him away, and he can spend the entire fight walking back to the action. Doesn't address not destroying the escape plane, since they were clearly not concerned with collateral damage (despite it being the premise of the movie).

There's also the very silly, yet effective plan of spiderman man webbing them up and passing it off to 1 of team tony's 3 flyer's to separate them. Heck, they'd only really need to get Bucky recaptured or separated to win.

Xavier could have mind raped everyone to do as he wanted. Victor Doom could have taken a few minutes to check the calculations of his experiment to make sure it didn't blow up in his face. Peter Parker could have stopped the robbery. The Waynes could have avoided walking down a dark alley. Superman could have stuck around after the senate bombing instead of flying away to mope and looking guilty. People living in haunted houses could leave when they realize their house is haunted. Can always find a more effective solution than what's presented. Just one of those things about movies.

____________________________

George Carlin wrote:

I think it’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately.

"Why didn't he just call [person] with that information?" "Cause then it would have been a six minute movie..."

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since they were clearly not concerned with collateral damage (despite it being the premise of the movie).

Technically, Stark & Co had permission from up high to do their superhero thing and apprehend Capt & Co so collateral damage was already signed off on. Really, the heroes seemed more concerned about loss of life than just material damage and the airport was conveniently clear of civilians. Maybe Stark has a lot of money invested in construction companies. But the Avengers were shook up by Wanda accidentally killing several floors worth of civilians in the apartments and Stark's moment of revelation was being told about some American kid who died in Generic Slavic Nation (sucks to be the non-American Generic Slavic kids, I guess). No one really gives a shit if the Hulk roughs up some building facades while he's jumping around.

To be fair though, while I did find the film super fun and whatnot, I also had a few moments of "Um... Do they really need to blow that much stuff up?" while watching it. The airport fight scene was particularly problematic, since there were a couple times where it seemed as though the heroes were going out of their way to break more stuff than necessary. Like tens of millions of dollars worth of stuff. I totally get that they weren't trying to seriously injure each other (well, most of them), but I'm not sure how "toss a bus at him" is a solution to that problem. I get this is maybe a crazy concept, but maybe they should shoot at each other instead of blasting stuff near each other? Seemed like the CG folks just wanted to make as many explosions as possible. I appreciate a good explosion in a film as much as the next guy, but there's a point where it becomes somewhat overdone. This film walked well past that point IMO.

I suppose it's a natural result of the need to have different power level folks in the same fight (blow stuff up around them instead of killing each other), but it did come off a bit strained IMO. Not sure if there's a great solution to that problem though. I do think they could have accomplished the same type of fight scene with a lot less random and arbitrary destruction though. And it would have been better.

People don't go to see a movie about superheroes fighting each other to see them not bust shit up. I thought it was fine but, as far as superhero movie criticisms go, "threw too many cars" is doing way better than the junk DC puts out.

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I totally get that they weren't trying to seriously injure each other (well, most of them), but I'm not sure how "toss a bus at him" is a solution to that problem.

Well, if "him" is wearing a magic-science power suit or is a magic-science android with space-rock powers then throwing a bus at them is about the only way to knock them down.

People go to see a movie about superheroes fighting each other to see them not bust shit up. I thought it was fine but, as far as superhero movie criticisms go, "threw too many cars" is doing way better than the junk DC puts out.

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I totally get that they weren't trying to seriously injure each other (well, most of them), but I'm not sure how "toss a bus at him" is a solution to that problem.

Well, if "him" is wearing a magic-science power suit or is a magic-science android with space-rock powers then throwing a bus at them is about the only way to knock them down.

People don't go to see a movie about superheroes fighting each other to see them not bust shit up. I thought it was fine but, as far as superhero movie criticisms go, "threw too many cars" is doing way better than the junk DC puts out.

That goes without saying. There was one particular bit at the beginning of the fight that just seemed strange though. Can't remember which character it was (probably Iron Man or his twin), but there's a group of folks running in a direction, and he literally blows up an entire line of parked planes kinda sorta in the direction they're running. Now maybe his plan was to blow up stuff they might use for cover? Or maybe he was firing a warning shot (but for some reason fires at stuff like a hundred feet away from them)? That set me off in the "why are they shooting deliberately at stuff" mode, and from that point on in the scene, I was super attuned to the fact that it seemed like they were all going out of their way to destroy random stuff.

I get that film goers like to see explosions, but it just came off as far too blatant and unnecessary. I could go rent Die Hard 4 or something if I wanted random unnecessary explosions. Thankfully, there was enough other fun stuff to offset it (Spider Man was funny as ****), so it's not like that was even remotely close to a deal breaker or anything. I just thought they could have toned it down just a tad is all.

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I totally get that they weren't trying to seriously injure each other (well, most of them), but I'm not sure how "toss a bus at him" is a solution to that problem.

Well, if "him" is wearing a magic-science power suit or is a magic-science android with space-rock powers then throwing a bus at them is about the only way to knock them down.

And in that case, you're not too concerned about hitting him directly with your telekinetic attack or your explosive arrows, or whatever, right? Again, it just seemed like they had an inordinate amount of random heavy and expensive objects flying around in that fight. Just because you can do such things easily and cheaply with CGI doesn't mean it's a good idea to actually do it. I would have preferred fewer exploding objects and more banter and direct power vs power shots. It was by no means a "bad" fight sequence (and still like 100X better than anything I've seen in a DC film, so there is that). I just think they got the balance off a bit on it.

And yeah, I totally acknowledge that this is a personal preference of mine. I disliked most of the fight sequences in the Transformer films for the same reasons. Too much stuff on the screen at one time. To many things breaking and moving and exploding. Just too busy (see my comment about overuse of CGI effects). This wasn't anywhere near as annoying as the sequences in those films, but then again, you can justify it a lot more when the combatants are all giant robots and they're fighting in the middle of a city. This fight was in an airport, which is kinda mostly flat empty blacktop. There were easily 10x more buses in that one terminal than you'd normally find in an entire airport. And rows of small planes just sitting there waiting to be blown up, apparently. And several large passenger jets, which inexplicably share the same area as the rows of small planes (which, you know, doesn't actually happen in real airports). And piles of crates and whatnot, cause apparently we also packed the cargo terminal in the same area as the small private planes terminal and the large passenger jet terminal. And thank goodness there was apparently zero random people in the area, despite all this equipment and buses and loaders, and fuel trucks, and planes of all sizes, etc, etc, etc...

Yeah. I'm nitpicking. Not in a "OMG this sucked!" kind of way, but if I'm going to critique it, that's what I thought could have been done better. Just because the audience is suspending their disbelief in the context of super powered people in the first place does not make it a disbelief free for all. You have to keep some amount of grounding in reality, otherwise you can lose your audience. I'm not saying that this scene was remotely close to that level, but it did veer a bit in that direction. Marvel has been remarkably good at finding that balance and doing it right. I just think they fell a bit short in that scene.